Not Applicable.
1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a stroller, and in particular, to a stroller and to an indoor stroller base with a tilt-in-space capability for selecting a desired recline angle of a seat assembly and with a height adjustment for selective positioning the seat assembly between a lower position near the floor and a raised position suitable, for example, for feeding a handicapped individual seated in the seat assembly.
2. Background of the Invention
A standard wheelchair is perhaps the most common wheeled support structure for handicapped individuals. Although wheelchairs are commonly designed to be readily adaptable to accommodate individuals of different sizes and shape, they often lack the contoured support needed to properly anatomically align and support the occupant, especially severely handicapped children. Further, standard wheelchairs frequently have complicated adjustment mechanisms in order to accommodate individuals of different sizes and weights, and frequently fail to provide any means for varying the spatial orientation of the occupant without disturbing a therapeutically desired seating posture.
Another type of wheeled support structure, although not specifically designed for handicapped individuals, is a baby stroller. A wide variety of baby strollers are presently available, but most do not satisfactorily combine the desirable characteristics of a wheeled seat support or stroller for a handicapped individual. Baby strollers are generally designed to function as temporary portable wheeled structures for babies and small children. Such strollers are usually engineered to be of a light construction and often include intricate folding mechanisms which would be unduly cumbersome if enlarged to a size necessary for a wheeled support structure or stroller for older children, such as handicapped children up to adolescence or young adult ages. Baby strollers generally lack any contoured support of the type needed to properly anatomically align and support a handicapped child, especially if the child spends a significant portion of the day in the stroller. Nor do they permit easy tilting of the seat for the child""s comfort.
Strollers designed for handicapped children do not provide for easy height adjustment. It would be desirable to have a stroller which can be easily lowered to a position close to the floor so that the child can be near other children at play. It also would be desirable to be able to easily raise the height of the child in the stroller to a position near table height for feeding the child. Also, the positioning and support of the child should be easily adjusted between reclining and upright positions at the different seat heights.
The invention is directed to a stroller suitable for use by handicapped children and to an adjustable height base for such a stroller. According to the invention, a stroller base is designed primarily for indoor use. The base has a generally rectangular frame with four small wheels, at least two of which are swivel or caster wheels. The base includes two spaced, parallel seat mounting members to which a seat assembly is releasably attached. The seat mounting members are located on opposite sides of the base. A scissors mechanism is connected between the base and the two seat mounting members to permit simultaneously raising and lowering the seat mounting members. A locking gas spring also is connected between the base and the seat mounting members for imparting a lifting force on the seat mounting members while adjusting the height of the seat assembly and for locking the vertical position of the seat assembly. Optionally, the seat assembly may be removed from the stroller base and placed on a separate base suitable for pushing and for use outdoors.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a stroller suitable for use with handicapped children which has an adjustable height base.